


finding home

by CapnShellhead



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Domestic, First Time, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 07:28:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11076855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnShellhead/pseuds/CapnShellhead
Summary: Danny helps Luke through his divorce.





	finding home

**Author's Note:**

> AU taking place during Bendis' first arc in the 2016 Jessica Jones series.

Luke’s puttering through the kitchen one morning when he sees a familiar pink lunchbox on the table.

“Shit,” he mutters as he shuffles over to pick it up. It was empty. He’d forgotten to make Dani’s lunch. In all the stress of everything going on in this house and out there, he’d forgotten to send his daughter to school with lunch. Damn it.

He shrugs on a jacket and grabs his car keys. He’d kept the car, to Danny’s surprise. It was small but it was just big enough for what he needed. Besides, if they absolutely needed more space for whatever reason, there was Danny’s monstrosity. Not that he’d get away with calling it that around Danny.

He drives up to the school and makes his way to Dani’s classroom. He peers inside but he doesn’t recognize any of the kids there. Frowning, he spins around for a moment, sure that this was Dani’s classroom this year when he spots her teacher, Ms. Kim. He jogs over and sees her face brighten. Whether that’s because he’s wearing his “Big Poppa” t-shirt or because he looks funny jogging in a tiny hallway, she doesn’t look like she’s judging him for forgetting to send his daughter to school with lunch today.

“Mr. Cage. How are you?” Her hair was piled high on top of her head in a messy bun that made her look like a crazed artist. Truth be told, it was one of the reasons he liked her. That and the fact that she wasn’t as judgmental as the others regarding his profession.

“Great, great. How are you?”

“Just fine. What can I do you for?”

“Listen, I somehow forgot to make Dani her lunch this morning and-“

She held a hand up, a soft smile on her face. “Say no more. Your partner dropped by with something earlier. He’s very thoughtful.”

Of course he was. Luke felt a weight fall off his shoulders. With Jessica gone, Danny came by enough that he was practically living at their house now. Luke would deny it until he was blue in the face but it was nice. He didn’t know how single parents like Jessica Drew handled this kind of thing but sometimes Luke felt like he was literally drowning. He couldn’t be in two places at once and he felt like something was always slipping through the cracks. And Dani deserved so much better. None of this was her fault.

“He’s definitely something,” Luke said, running a hand over his face.

She beamed up at him, leaning against the desk. She seemed to be thinking over her next words for a quite some time before she spoke. “A lot of children of divorce go through a tough readjusting period. I see this kind of thing a lot, unfortunately. Some become withdrawn, even angry. It’s hard for everyone to adjust to the changes, at any age but for children, they feel even more powerless. But Danielle… if I didn’t know, I would think everything was situation normal. Sure, she seems sad at times but for the most part, she seems happy. Cheerful. I think it helps that she’s so taken with your partner.”

Luke nods, his heart twinged at sad comment but he was glad Dani had Danny. Still, there was something in the way she’d said “partner” that stuck in his craw a little. Danny was his partner but he wasn’t his _partner_. Despite the rumors around Hell’s Kitchen. “Well, thanks.”

She nods, bids him farewell and returns to the classroom. Luke had been off by one door so he’d take that as a win.

He heads home, turns off the music on the radio so he can hear himself think. This wasn’t the first time someone had seen Danny with Dani and just assumed. She clung to him like he’d been there for her from day one. And he had. He was there as “Unca Danny” from the time she could speak. He loved her more than anything else in the world and would take down anyone that tried to hurt her. He also spoiled her more than Luke and Jessica ever had so Dani had no shortage of reasons to love him. Taking one look at them, as an outsider, even Luke would think she was Danny’s daughter.

So, no, this wasn’t the first time someone assumed Dani was Danny’s. It wasn’t even the first time someone assumed Luke was Danny’s. It was the first time someone put those two assumptions together and imagined them a little family. Or, at least the first time someone told Luke that to his face. They went out together sometimes to lunch or the movies or the park. It wasn’t farfetched to think someone made assumptions about them then.

Thing was, it wasn’t a necessarily unpleasant thought. He loved Danny. He was his main man, his best friend. His partner. He’d be lying if he said he never thought about Danny that way. Never seriously but enough sideways glances and he’d think about anything. Roughly a year after they started working together, he found himself imagining how it’d feel if he touched Danny.

Back when he was trying to understand the whole mystic chi thing, he’d done a lot of practicing with Danny. A lot of standing behind him and trying to mimic his arm movements, his breathing techniques, his stance. A lot of standing close to him and watching the strong lines of his back, shoulders, the tense muscles in his arms. He appreciated Danny’s looks in an objective way. He wasn’t large and thick like Luke but rather lean and muscular. He wasn’t bulletproof, all recklessness aside, but he still put himself out there like Luke did. He still put his life on the line everyday to protect their community. He was attractive, brave, and courageous, all things Luke knew in his mind but he never allowed himself to go past that point. It helped that Danny was also kind of an asshole.

He could be stubborn as hell. Even staring logic in the face, he’d ignore it and go into situations he knew were dangerous. He was stupidly self-righteous. Luke was too but sometimes Danny would put himself in harm’s way just to make a point about some moral injustice. He was also clueless about how to take care of himself. It took a few weeks before Luke realized Danny popped over for dinner a lot because he didn’t know how to cook for himself. A lot of things were lost on him all those years in K’un L’un. He was a little better at it now but only slightly. All reasons Luke shouldn’t find Danny attractive.

The chief reason all of that wondering was pointless was that Luke had never seen Danny look at any man that way. And, if Luke was being honest, they were surrounded by some of the most attractive men on the planet. He may not always like Stark but the man was handsome. As were Steve, Sam, T’Challa, even Clint to an extent. Danny never seemed to look twice at them. Then again, Luke couldn’t remember Danny watching Misty that much before they got together so maybe his theory was bullshit.

It was pointless to wonder about the possibility and then there was Jessica and then little Dani. It was easy enough to put it out of his mind.

Why was he getting all caught up in this again? So Dani’s teacher thought he and Danny were together? So what? At least she thought Dani was doing okay with all of this mess going on around them. That’s what mattered. Dani was more important than whatever rumors might spread about him amongst the parents.

He works throughout the day in the shop trying to turn Danny’s monstrosity into less of a death trap. He stumbled across some of their old Heroes for Hire ads at lunch. It’d been a huge ‘no’ earlier but now… his reasons for turning Danny down had changed. They still needed to eat and it wasn’t like he didn’t need something to take his mind off of Jessica. They could take safe cases. Small ones without any real danger.

He sets them aside and gets back to work. Works until four thirty apparently because before he knows it, he looks up to see Danny opening the front door. A ball of powder blue wool in his arms. “How was your day, Dani?” Danny asked with a bright grin on his face.

“Good. How was your day, Danny?” She giggled, laid her head on his shoulder as he closed the door behind them. It was a stupid joke and one they’d told pretty much since Dani could talk. Those two bozos still laughed at it like it was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

Danny sets her down on the floor and helps her pull her coat off. He has to pass Luke to put her coat on the hook. “Hey,” he greets Luke as he passes. He’s wearing a shirt that’s clearly seen better days by the holes in around the bottom.

“Hey.” He waits until Danny returns to say, “I went by Dani’s school today,” Danny’s face twists almost nervously as he nods. Confused, Luke continues, “Thanks for bringing her lunch, man.”

“No problem. I saw her lunch box on my way to Colleen’s.” He grabs an apple and Luke can just see the hint of relief cross his face. He grabs a knife from the drawer and cuts the apple into pieces. He hands one to Dani as she passes.

Luke stops her with a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, what do we say?”

“Thank you, Uncle Danny,” she recites, leaning up as Luke gives her a kiss on the top of her head. She runs off to her room leaving Luke with Danny and his odd avoidance. He watches him for a few moments before Danny sighs and leans back against the counter.

"What is it?”

“You tell me.” He crosses his arms and notes the pout on Danny’s face. He always got like that when he thought Luke was about to give him a hard time about something.

"I don’t have anything to tell you, Luke,” he said coyly and grabbed the rest of his snack. He passed Luke carefully, a brief grin as he did.

 

They’re eating dinner one night when Dani asks, “Daddy, when did you know you liked Uncle Danny?”

Luke nearly chokes on his food. “What, baby?”

“When did you know you liked Uncle Danny?” she repeats like she hadn’t nearly given her father a heart attack.

“Answer the question, Daddy,” Danny says with a smug grin on his face. There was something in the way he said “Daddy” that sent a weird thrill down Luke’s spine. Even a glint in Danny’s eyes to go with it but he blinked and it was gone in a flash.

“I don’t know, baby. Jury might still be out on that one.”

“What does that mean?” Dani asked as Danny kicked him under the table.

“Nothing, baby. Nothing.” He pushed his food around on his plate for a few moments. “Your Uncle Danny’s very brave.”

“I am?” Luke glared at the smug smile on Danny’s face.

“He’s a hero, is what I mean. Everyone likes heroes.”

“Especially your father,” Danny added with a wink. Dani laughed but Luke didn’t think it was very funny.

“Danny.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it.” He turned to Dani. “Why do you ask, sweetheart?” He poked at her cheek, smiling when she gave a dimpled smile in return. “Someone you have your eye on?”

“Maybe,” she sang. She took a bite of her food and missed the frown on Luke’s face. “Maisie wants me to sit next to her at lunch next week.”

Oh.

“And… do you… want to sit next to her at lunch?” Luke asked carefully. He certainly wasn’t prepared for this conversation.

Dani shrugged, “Dunno. She’s nice. I don’t know if she’s brave?”

Danny snorted, covering his mouth. “Sweetheart, that’s not something you really have to be for a while.” He paused, “Well, you know unless you see someone doing something wrong like picking on someone else. What your father meant when he said I was brave was more about the family business.”

She lets out a big frustrated huff, chin in hand. “So, how do I know if I like someone?” She looked at Danny with those big, brown puppy dog eyes.

Danny tapped her chin and leaned over close to her, “You’ll know when you know. Trust me.” Her eyes were wide as she hung on Danny’s every word and Luke doesn’t remember ever being worried about that. He doesn’t remember ever being distrustful of Danny being around his daughter. He’s seen those hands smash buildings and monsters to pieces and he didn’t hesitate for a second the first time he put his daughter in Danny’s arms.

Danny kisses her forehead and goes back to eating. It wasn’t as though Luke had never seen Danny do this kind of thing before but for some reasons, his heart turned over in his chest. Danny’s eyes met his, confused and Luke realized he’d been staring at Danny for some time now. He gives a small smile and returns to his food.

 

After dinner, Danny sets all of the dishes in the sink and starts running dishwater. Luke kisses Dani goodnight and sends her off to get ready for bed. She was practically dozing into her mac and cheese so he knows she’ll be knocked out by the time he goes up to bed. He still slept in the master bedroom. When Danny slept over, he camped out with Luke or on the couch if he got home too late.

No wonder Ms. Kim thought they were together. An outsider looking in would have no choice but to assume that.

Luke normally rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher but not Danny. He pulled out a dishtowel and actually started washing them by hand. His biceps tensed and relaxed as he worked, eyes focused entirely on the task. He leaned into the counter, the corner of his shirt revealing a slice of toned stomach. His pants were loose, judging by the length, they might actually be Luke’s. He can’t remember the last time Danny went back to his own apartment.

He watched Danny work for a while until he let out a huff of frustration and turned around to face him. He laid a wet soapy hand on his hip as he growled at Luke, “What is it?”

“What?”

“You’ve been staring at me all night.” He turned to toss the towel in the sink. His eyes were cautious and accusing, making Luke take a step back. “Just say it.”

“What is it you think I have to say to you?”

Danny let out an irritated sound and turned back to the sink. His muscles shifted as he gripped the sink in his hands. He spoke quietly, his head minutely turned towards Luke. “I can probably guess.”

Luke came closer, hands nervous at his sides. He stopped inches behind Danny’s back; he could feel the heat from his body through his shirt. “Danny…” he takes a deep breath as Danny turns to look at him. There was something about the look on Danny’s face that gave him pause. He was still as a statue; as if he feared Luke was going to yell at him. “I just wanted to say thank you for helping out around here. Since Jess left… it’s been tough. On Dani,” he added.

Danny’s eyes narrowed, as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Finally, he gave a nervous smile and nodded, his hand coming up to settle on Luke’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you.”

His shoulder brushes past Luke on his way out and Luke can’t help but feel like he’d missed something.

 

The next few weeks pass in pretty much the same manner. The few nights Danny doesn’t sleep over, he’s there bright and early the next day. The nervous feeling quelling in the pit of Luke’s stomach never goes away but he learns to push past it. It makes him feel disloyal. If he’d felt this way all along, had he been a bad husband? Had their marriage failed because all this time, he’d thought of Danny as the only person he could trust his life with?

He thought he was doing a rather good job of hiding his doubts until one Wednesday morning.

He got Dani up, got her showered and dressed. Danny fed her oatmeal, packed her lunch and bundled her up in her coat before sending her over to Luke to get ready to go. Luke starts searching for his keys. He doesn’t see them, just feels them when Danny places them in his hand and he smiles. He kisses the top of Dani’s head and leans over to kiss Danny thanks. He waits with her for the carpool before he returns home. He calls for Danny, searching for him when he gets silence in response.

Danny’s standing beside the kitchen table, eyes wide with excitement as he stares at Luke. He’s confused for a full minute before it comes back to him. Danny’s brow rises as he continues to study him.

The apology comes out before Luke can think it through. “Danny, man, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me? I guess we’ve been working together so much I started to treat you like my wife.”

“I could be,” Danny blurted out, blushing immediately after. “I mean… I could be your family.”

Luke froze, his chest aching. “You are my family. I trust you with my life, with my daughter’s life.” He moves in closer, his hands resting on Danny’s face. His green eyes widen slightly, clearer than Luke’s ever seen them. “There’s no one in this world I trust more than you. I’m sorry.”

Danny’s swallows thickly and nods slightly as his brow furrows, “You said that before.” He gently pulls Luke’s hands away from his face. “Don’t be sorry,” he says quietly. With that, he leaves Luke in the kitchen and heads into the living room.

 

Luke thinks about it.

He thinks about how Dani would react when she found out; if she would be happy or confused. He thinks about what Misty would say, how Jess would feel if they found out. He thinks about all the people that would wonder if he’d been sneaking around with Danny all this time, although they’d keep their thoughts to themselves. He thinks about what Colleen would say, if she’d feel too awkward about it to come around the house.

At the end of this, none of it mattered if he couldn’t discern whether he wanted to do this or not. He couldn’t dwell on the things he didn’t know so he focused on what he knew.

He loves Danny. He loves his daughter. He liked having Danny here with him. In all the confusion, the mess of his divorce and everything going on outside his door with Carol and Tony… these are the only things he's certain about. These are the things that make him happy.

Was he really willing to push that aside and ignore the way it felt to kiss Danny because he was worried what people might think? Hadn’t he taught Dani to be braver than that?

So, he wanted this and he wasn’t going to let fear dissuade him. The only thing left to do was to make sure Danny still wanted this.

 

He’s practicing his tai chi when Luke finds him two days later; his shirt off, right arm outstretched and his face was relaxed but his was body tense. He wasn’t moving the way he usually does and Luke knows that’s because of him. He moves forward, intending to apologize again and explain when desire tugs at him from the pit of his stomach. His eyes catch on the sleek lines of Danny’s waist, the curve of his biceps, the strength in his thighs. His gaze lingers on the soft curve of his lips, the green of his eyes in the sunlight. He thinks about how Danny would feel beneath his hands – the soft skin, his warmth and Luke wants.

His hands slide up Danny’s hips, his mouth touching down on the curve of his neck. Danny stops, saying Luke’s name in an annoyed tone until he feels his lips touch his neck. Then he sighs, the tension finally leaving his body as he leans back into Luke’s chest. He smells like soap and toothpaste, his body warmth seeping into Luke. Danny feels good in his arms and he takes a moment to savor that before the desire takes hold and he runs his palm down Danny’s front. He hears the blonde’s breath hitch, feels him tense slightly and relax bit by bit as Luke’s palm glides down his stomach.

When he finally dips into Danny’s pants and grips his cock, Danny lets out a breathy laugh. “Certainly not your wife.” Luke noses at his ear and breathes him in, his hand striking up a rhythm. With this angle, it’s kind of like stroking himself except he has Danny’s soft groans in his ear and it’s ten times better. He can’t refrain from grinding his arousal into Danny’s ass as he moves, the friction too much of a tease to be helpful. Still, it’s something to tide him over as he brings Danny closer to the edge.

He starts to writhe, pushing his hips into Luke’s hand and then back against his hard cock. Luke teases a hard nipple, brushing against it with his thumb. Danny’s head falls back on his shoulders, enjoying it by the way he pushes into Luke’s hand with more enthusiasm. It’s tempting to just stay here teasing Danny and pulling back as soon as he gets close but that would be mean. He kisses Danny’s shoulder, the side of his throat, his chin as he picks up the pace. He’s cradling Danny against his chest, thumbing a nipple and stroking his cock when Danny lets go. He chokes out Luke’s name as he paints his chest in white. Luke takes him through it, coaxing out more as Danny shakes and shivers in his arms.

Then Danny turns and presses their lips together. It’s nothing like the first kiss, which was oddly domestic. This was hungry, desperate and possessive as he sucked Luke’s lip into his mouth. He’s sucking on Luke’s tongue when he slips a hand into Luke’s pants. It’s over almost as it begins with Luke so hard up from touching Danny. In no time, Luke’s shuddering and spilling over Danny’s hand.

When he opens his eyes again, Danny tastes some of his release, his pink tongue swiping over his hand. Luke’s cock gives a pathetic twitch that’s almost painful. “Fuck, Danny.”

He hums in response, his tongue taking up the rest of Luke’s come. When he’d finished, he pulled Luke into him again. When they kissed, Luke could taste more of himself than Danny and, while unusual, it wasn’t unpleasant. Danny reached up to hold Luke against him, with a strength Luke shouldn’t find surprising. These hands have torn through buildings, destroyed bullets, defeated mythical creatures. These hands held Luke together after his divorce was finalized, bandaged Dani’s skinned knees and built blanket forts in this very room. These hands belonged to a man that loved him.

Luke let out a small sound and wound his fingers in Danny’s hair. Danny pulled back, his forehead against Luke’s as he whispered, “We should get to a bed.”

The doubt creeps one last time as Luke asks, "Are we really doing this?"

Danny stares at him for a moment, his eyes bright and fond. "I think we are," he replies with a teasing smile. Luke feels his nerves settle instantly; that's the way things were with Danny. He could calm Luke with a smile and one line and then Luke was prepared to face anything.

Danny grabs Luke’s wrist and pulls him towards the back room. They passed an overflowing bead kit, two of Danny’s spare masks and a pair of boots. A Schnuckie doll, a mess of a toolboxes and rag covered in motor oil. Danny nearly stumbles over a pair his old Adidas but, thankfully, they make it to the bed for round 2.

 

Everyone stares at them at the parent teacher conference. Partially because Danny wouldn’t stop raving about all of the art on the walls and partially because he was holding Luke’s hand. To be fair, he was holding Dani’s too but Luke doubted anyone was getting upset about that. He’d been the center of attention before. He was bigger than most men and he was an Avenger for a time. In this neighborhood, people stared because of that or because he was a Hero for Hire and that used to mean something. Now, he wasn’t sure if it was those reasons or because of his family. Either way, he didn’t like it.

Ms. Kim greeted them with a smile. If his and Danny’s closeness surprised her, she didn’t show it. She waited patiently as Danny squeezed into one of the tiny desks beside Dani and listened to her talk about Dani’s progress in school. He even took notes about where she could use improvements and cheered when Ms. Kim complimented her. All things a parent would do and Luke couldn’t help that his pride mingled with regret because Jess was missing all of this. It must’ve shown because Danny reached out to grab his hand. Just like that, it was bearable.

They made to leave, Danny stealing one of Dani’s pictures for the fridge. Ms. Kim signaled for the next family to come in and paused, “You have a beautiful family, Mr. Cage.”

Luke froze, his heart swelling in his chest. “I know.”

“I’m sorry to say the room mothers haven’t warmed to Danny much since that incident in the spring,” she added with scorn. She spared them another smile as the next family passed by her on their way in. “Please know we don’t all feel that way.”

The door shut, leaving Luke in confusion. Danny was nonchalantly trying to sneak his way down the hall when Luke grabbed him by the hood of his sweater. “What incident?”

“Nothing,” he tried but Luke stared him down. Finally, he sighed, “Promise not to get mad.”

Another stare.

“Promise not to get too mad,” he said with a wince. “I came up here to get Dani and this was after that video came out. There were saying awful stuff about you and I just snapped. I told them they didn’t know you or anything about what was going on and they just assumed that, because I was there to get Dani, I must have been dating you. And then word spread and I just… didn’t correct them.”

“So, when I came up here with Dani’s lunch and Ms. Kim said my partner had already taken care of it… she didn’t mean partner, she meant ‘partner’?” he asked, the flush on Danny’s face giving him his answer. “Danny,” he groaned.

“It was an honest mistake. Besides, what harm did it do?” He nodded down at Dani who was watching them quietly. “It’s not exactly a lie anymore.”

“What kind of example are we setting for Danielle about lying?”

“Don’t do it unless it’s for a good reason?” Dani voiced, uncertain. Danny choked down a laugh but Luke didn’t think it very funny.

“What have I told you about learning lessons from Uncle Danny?”

“Don’t?” she voiced, more sure of her answer. Luke nodded, picking her up as they started for the door. “But Daddy, you and Uncle Danny are dating now, right?” She looked to Danny who looked to Luke beseechingly.

“Looks that way.” He knocked his shoulder into Danny’s as they exited the school. “We’ll see how long that lasts.”

Danny winced and Dani leaned over and attempted to whisper to him, “Just say you’re sorry and tell him he’s the best Daddy ever. It’s what I do.”

Danny didn’t have to heart to tell her that her volume was nowhere near a whisper. Instead he gives her a fond smile and kissed her cheek, the smell of his cologne quelling Luke’s temper moderately. “Thanks, kiddo. I’ll give that a try.”

 

When he wakes the next morning, it's raining outside. Danny had taken Dani's advice with a flourish. After retiring to Luke's room, he'd stripped off his clothes and climbed on top of Luke for his apology. Luke took one look at that pathetic imitation of remorse and laughed until Danny distracted him.

Now, Luke looks over at where Danny’s softly snoring, his face buried into the pillows. He's even drooling a little from the looks of it and Luke feels that familiar warmth return. He thinks about Dani’s face screwed up in an adorable imitation of Danny’s scowl when he taught her how to throw a punch. He thinks about them dancing around the kitchen to the Jackson 5, Danny’s hair bouncing around his face as he copies Dani. He thinks about Danny asleep on the couch with his arms secure around Dani, her cheek pressed into his chest. The warmth had always been there and yet somehow, he'd never noticed.

Danny was his.

Danny was home.


End file.
